Question 1
Using these four sources in their historical context, assess how far they support the view that
Richard II abused his power as king in the period from 1386 to 1399.
Source A: A chronicler gives an account of events in September 1397.
The earls of Arundel and Warwick were called to stand trial. When the charges against them, so grave as to comprise treason towards the king, had been read out, they were condemned to death and all their goods declared to be forfeited to the lord king. However, heeding the pleas for mercy of Lady Isabelle, queen of England, the king relented and granted Lord Thomas, earl of Warwick his life, banishing him to the Isle of Man, granting him a fixed annuity for life. The earl of Arundel, however, was beheaded that same day. How admirable and long-suffering is the king’s forbearance. Previously the sun was hidden behind a cloud, but now he has dispersed the cloud with his sun, whose light shines ever more brightly.
Short Kirkstall Chronicle, 1397.
Source B: An official account of the parliament of September 1397.
Thomas, earl marshal, reported that, ‘By order of my most excellent lord the king, I held Thomas, duke of Gloucester in my custody in the lord king’s prison in Calais and there, in that same prison, he died’. Those who had accused the duke asked the king that the said duke of Gloucester should be adjudged a traitor and an enemy to the realm, seeing as, contrary to his allegiance, he had levied war against the person of the king in his own realm. Whereupon all the lords temporal, with the assent of the king, judged the said duke guilty of levying war in the said manner and thus of being a traitor.
Rolls of Parliament, 1397.
Source C: A monk, who became increasingly critical of the king over time, writes about the parliament at Shrewsbury in January 1398.
When the parliament met, the king, artful and deceitful as ever, cleverly made them concede that, with the consent of all the estates of the realm, parliament’s power should be delegated to certain persons, six or eight in number. Once parliament had been dissolved, they would have the power to decide various petitions which had been presented to the parliament and which had not yet been dealt with. Under the guise of this concession, however, those persons later proceeded to deal with other more general matters concerning the parliament. This was done with the king’s will to diminish the power of parliament and to the prejudice of the whole realm, a pernicious example.
Thomas of Walsingham, Chronicle, written before 1422.
Source D: Charges are brought against Richard II in 1399.
The king, when he was formerly at Shrewsbury, caused to come before him and others that supported him, in a chamber, various persons, including the majority of the judges. Here, through fear and threats, he induced them to answer questions concerning the laws of the kingdom. They answered otherwise than they would have done, had they not been under compulsion. By the authority of these questions, the king planned the destruction of the duke of Gloucester and the earls of Arundel and Warwick, against who he had conceived a great hatred because they wished him to be under good rule.
The Record and Process of the Renunciation and Deposition of Richard II, 1399.
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